Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: tlwcs on May 09, 2025, 12:07:56 pm
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Following on from the YouTube video, I said I’d ordered one and it arrived last Friday.
Before it goes to the mechanic to be installed and the exhaust routed I wanted to be sure it worked and there aren’t any leaks.
After the standard ptfe tape faff and lovely hose ‘leaking’ lock connectors, that I will change, it ran for an hour giving me these results. A little smoke at first, which I put down to it being new.
Happy with the results though.
I bought the unit after Dave’s review and I did email him with a couple of questions last week that he hasn’t replied to. Make of that what you will.
(Can’t delete the duplicated pic)
For now all good(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1746788605_IMG_1362.jpeg)
(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1746788738_IMG_1362.jpeg)(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1746788738_IMG_1363.jpeg)
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What are the dimensions of it please. I cant find them on their website or on Ebay
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What are the dimensions of it please. I cant find them on their website or on Ebay
20cm deep
40cm wide
60cm high
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Sounds good,it might squeeze in
Thanks for taking the time to measure it ;)
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wouldnt the temp be lower once the hose is all laid out on the floor ?
i must admit that price is a lot more tempting for hot water and ive never really considered it before...
From what ive read 5kw isnt enough dont most advocate using a 9kw boiler ?
what would be the fuel cost to run this boiler on a daily basis ?
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wouldnt the temp be lower once the hose is all laid out on the floor ?
i must admit that price is a lot more tempting for hot water and ive never really considered it before...
From what ive read 5kw isnt enough dont most advocate using a 9kw boiler ?
what would be the fuel cost to run this boiler on a daily basis ?
Morning Adam.
Maybe you’re right with the coiled hose, it was also recirculating 50 litres of water I had left in the tank.
It will be fitted by the mechanic I use who is on holiday.
I wanted to test it worked without any leaks before it’s bolted down.
It’s replacing the immersion element I currently use.
Running costs are obviously unknown atm but I can update when in use.
9 kw might be more efficient and get the water hotter and I value Spruce’s input on the other thread but if it only reaches 30* on a winters day, I will be happy with that.
I emailed Dave directly to ask if and how it needs to be recirculated and also where he got the temp gauge from, but he hasn’t replied and I doubt if he will now.
Tony
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wouldnt the temp be lower once the hose is all laid out on the floor ?
i must admit that price is a lot more tempting for hot water and ive never really considered it before...
From what ive read 5kw isnt enough dont most advocate using a 9kw boiler ?
what would be the fuel cost to run this boiler on a daily basis ?
Yes it does in our experience, especially when the ground is frozen. The more hose is pulled out the cooler the water at the end.
It will be interesting to hear about running costs. My 9kw boiler is plumbed into the diesel tank. We just use the heater mainly over winter and for the odd job in summer. My Peugeot Boxer does around 24mpg during the summer when the heater isn't working, but it drops to around 12mpg during the winter.
Personally I can't see using one of those 10 litre auxillary fuel tanks will last very long. If anything I would try to modify a 30 litre outboard motor fuel tank, but the problem would be that it will take up valuable floor space and the back of the van could stink of any spilt diesel.
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It’s difficult to be exact with fuel usage we have 9 kw boilers in the vans and they are plumbed into the fuel tanks ,the book says they use 0.9 ltr per hour I am sure it’s more like 1.25 ltr per hour .
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It’s difficult to be exact with fuel usage we have 9 kw boilers in the vans and they are plumbed into the fuel tanks ,the book says they use 0.9 ltr per hour I am sure it’s more like 1.25 ltr per hour .
That’s a lot of diesel. Crikey.
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I usually run my heater for two hours and then turn it off. As I can only use one reel at a time, this means the other reel is moving pure back to tank. After a few hours the tank is hot enough for me to turn the heater off. You can insulate the tank so the heat stays in and means the next day it heats up fairly quickly.
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I read a 5kw boiler uses about 0.6ltr per hour so roughly £5 a day for a 6 hour day
Thats not bad to be fair
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my 9kw uses about £25 a week in fuel ish but water gets piping hot on the hot setting for my round the 5kw just wont be hot enough shame as there price is very good
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That's the thing if its only luke warm its false economy.
I'll pass
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It'll be a very luke warm system in winter and just warm at best on a warm day in summer with all your hose out.....
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That's the thing if its only like warm its false economy.
I'll pass
Seems like a lot of faff for Luke warm water.
I’m defo not interested ;D
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That's probably the reason Webasto are discontinuing their 5Kw heater, not hot enough. I was well warned before I bought mine to buy the 9kw heater and I'm glad I did. Diesel is as cheap as chips now, I'm paying £1.30 a litre now and I think it may fall further until the Gov puts the 5p a litre back on.
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Surely someone can up with a heater for a reasonable price (sub 2k imo) that gets the water hot.
How hard can it be my house boiler cost not much more than this 5kw effort.
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Surely someone can up with a heater for a reasonable price (sub 2k imo) that gets the water hot.
How hard can it be my house boiler cost not much more than this 5kw effort.
You can rig up a gas shower burner by using a propane cylinder but its not legal. These Webasto heaters are bomb proof and fully legal thus the cost. Once one has a load of good customers then the running costs are minimal. Everything in this game is about building up the business one day at a time. After 5 years the money begins to come in and the costs go down the way like a see-saw. That's what I'm witnessing, one can pick and choose jobs. Hold on to good customers and get rid of the bad ones, take full control and don't be afraid to say sorry no can do, too busy.
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https://pbautoelectrics.co.uk/shop/webasto-thermo-pro-90-diesel-12v-water-heater-with-universal-fitting-kit-9023075a9024620a/?srsltid=AfmBOorqRPsDEmC0inxqzKZq47OsiTfp8OXxt-V1osEoYbh0TnkfSd_Z
Could you not just buy that and fit it yourself?.
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https://pbautoelectrics.co.uk/shop/webasto-thermo-pro-90-diesel-12v-water-heater-with-universal-fitting-kit-9023075a9024620a/?srsltid=AfmBOorqRPsDEmC0inxqzKZq47OsiTfp8OXxt-V1osEoYbh0TnkfSd_Z
Could you not just buy that and fit it yourself?.
No because you need a cabinet,pump controller, pump,heat exchanger,header tank,battery bank and charging system and integration into your vans fuel tank(through the sender unit on the top of the tank) which usually means dropping the tank. Drilling holes in van floor for air inlet and exhaust hoses, etc....
Unless you used to be a mechanic or mechanical minded you haven't a chance in hell to install it to a good,safe standard.
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My heater was on all morning and in the afternoon I went to clean a wood merchants massive sign. It was open so I didn't want to use hypo and just went with the hot water. Guys were saying that will take ages because it was covered in alga. I think I took 15 minutes and no one could believe how quick I did it. That's the benefit of high temperature pure it doesn't take much scrubbing. Even if you don't want to run it everyday its handy to have on first cleans.
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My heater was on all morning and in the afternoon I went to clean a wood merchants massive sign. It was open so I didn't want to use hypo and just went with the hot water. Guys were saying that will take ages because it was covered in alga. I think I took 15 minutes and no one could believe how quick I did it. That's the benefit of high temperature pure it doesn't take much scrubbing. Even if you don't want to run it everyday its handy to have on first cleans.
So is spending 2 minutes spraying virisol on and achieving the same result only without a 5k spend on a heater plus on going running costs. But its your money, spend it how you like, I prefer to spend it on non work things.
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I ran my heater for half hour this morning and checked temperature(coiled hose)and it was reading just over 59c. Too hot to leave my hand under....
I've not fired it up for 12 days as I've been away. The smaller heaters probably won't get as hot and will lose a lot of heat in winter with hose out resulting in a less than satisfactory 'brush end' temperature.
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I ran my heater for half hour this morning and checked temperature(coiled hose)and it was reading just over 59c. Too hot to leave my hand under....
I've not fired it up for 12 days as I've been away. The smaller heaters probably won't get as hot and will lose a lot of heat in winter with hose out resulting in a less than satisfactory 'brush end' temperature.
The immersion heater keeps the hose warm etc in the winter so it heats your hands when moving it etc, tbh if it's absolutely freezing I'm not going out anyway, with or without hot water, I'm not loaded, but I've enough there which means me not going out in freezing conditions doesn't effect my life style money wise.
If it speeded things up and even managed to get you doing another £50 a week worth of work then I'd say it's a no brainer. For monthly domestic cleans it's not any faster.
For people who do commercial contracts on a 6 monthly basis etc, I think hot would probably shave some time from they kind of cleans. And although there probably wouldn't be to much a difference in time, if you do alot of that type of work then all of it added up over the year would add up to quite a bit.
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i think this system will be more for the people who dont need hot water just more of a stopping the water freezing during winter and having soft hoses both are a bonus to be fair but spending that bit extra on a 9 kw will give the option for piping hot water when needed , i run mine on warm setting most of the time only use the hot setting when needed thats maby 30)% of my work
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A month in and it’s still not fitted.
I use a couple of mechanics and the one who said he could do it, is suddenly becoming difficult to pin down with a date. The other guy is a better mechanic but always stacked out with work. I’m not sure he’d take it on. He will MOT the car in a couple of weeks, I’ll ask him then.
I drive a caddy with a 350 tank with a waterworks electric reel so to fit it where I want it may mean dropping the fuel tank.
I need the expertise of a mechanic to route the exhaust.
While there is no immediate rush, it ain’t quite plug and play as advertised.
Tony
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i spoke to my mechanic and he said he could take my heater out but not install in in the new van i ended up going back with stream line but they charge a fair wack
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https://pbautoelectrics.co.uk/shop/webasto-thermo-pro-90-diesel-12v-water-heater-with-universal-fitting-kit-9023075a9024620a/?srsltid=AfmBOorqRPsDEmC0inxqzKZq47OsiTfp8OXxt-V1osEoYbh0TnkfSd_Z
Could you not just buy that and fit it yourself?.
https://pbautoelectrics.co.uk/shop/webasto-thermo-pro-90-diesel-12v-window-cleaning-hot-water-heater-kit-pro902platenomix/
Yes , the above link includes everything you need except a 10 litre header tank for the water circuit . They are actually pretty simple to wire up and plumb in . going into van diesel tank is pretty easy on some older vans but a bit more tricky on new ones . A seperate tank means you could use heating oil or red diesel .
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https://pbautoelectrics.co.uk/shop/webasto-thermo-pro-90-diesel-12v-water-heater-with-universal-fitting-kit-9023075a9024620a/?srsltid=AfmBOorqRPsDEmC0inxqzKZq47OsiTfp8OXxt-V1osEoYbh0TnkfSd_Z
Could you not just buy that and fit it yourself?.
https://pbautoelectrics.co.uk/shop/webasto-thermo-pro-90-diesel-12v-window-cleaning-hot-water-heater-kit-pro902platenomix/
Yes , the above link includes everything you need except a 10 litre header tank for the water circuit . They are actually pretty simple to wire up and plumb in . going into van diesel tank is pretty easy on some older vans but a bit more tricky on new ones. A seperate tank means you could use heating oil or red diesel .
That was the case, but since April 2022, not any more. If you are using diesel to heat your van, then you can use red diesel or heating oil. If you are using it to heat water for window cleaning, then diesel is being used commercially and needs to be road or white diesel.
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I have found that fitting these heaters is a specialist job, even then they get things wrong. Not many people out there who do this job. That's the reason I drove down to Cambridge to let Grippa do it. Took a week and plenty of teething problems. Now, 9Kw heater is running like a dream and get it serviced every 3 years.
Not a thing that can be done on the cheap, I have found out.
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I have found that fitting these heaters is a specialist job, even then they get things wrong. Not many people out there who do this job. That's the reason I drove down to Cambridge to let Grippa do it. Took a week and plenty of teething problems. Now, 9Kw heater is running like a dream and get it serviced every 3 years.
Not a thing that can be done on the cheap, I have found out.
Its not that difficult really , the only difficult bit is plumbing into the diesel tank on modern vans , on old vans you could just tap into the return fuel line.
Servicing them isnt that ndifficult either , just a little fiddly .........parts are crazy expensive for what they are though .
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https://pbautoelectrics.co.uk/shop/webasto-thermo-pro-90-diesel-12v-water-heater-with-universal-fitting-kit-9023075a9024620a/?srsltid=AfmBOorqRPsDEmC0inxqzKZq47OsiTfp8OXxt-V1osEoYbh0TnkfSd_Z
Could you not just buy that and fit it yourself?.
https://pbautoelectrics.co.uk/shop/webasto-thermo-pro-90-diesel-12v-window-cleaning-hot-water-heater-kit-pro902platenomix/
Yes , the above link includes everything you need except a 10 litre header tank for the water circuit . They are actually pretty simple to wire up and plumb in . going into van diesel tank is pretty easy on some older vans but a bit more tricky on new ones. A seperate tank means you could use heating oil or red diesel .
That was the case, but since April 2022, not any more. If you are using diesel to heat your van, then you can use red diesel or heating oil. If you are using it to heat water for window cleaning, then diesel is being used commercially and needs to be road or white diesel.
Cheers Spruce , i didnt know that had changed.
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streamline say there is nothing to service on these heaters just replace bits when needed
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streamline say there is nothing to service on these heaters just replace bits when needed
Glow plug and grating. One of the guy's on the other forum didn't get his serviced for 6 years and it burnt out. He got a company to repair it and it cost the same as a new one. After it was up and running he said he would have been better just replacing with a new one and having the warranty.
I don't want to fall out with these companies that service them because I end up chasing my tail trying to find another company.
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streamline say there is nothing to service on these heaters just replace bits when needed
The service is usually replacing the glow pin and burner , these are the parts that get coked up eventually.
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streamline say there is nothing to service on these heaters just replace bits when needed
Glow plug and grating. One of the guy's on the other forum didn't get his serviced for 6 years and it burnt out. He got a company to repair it and it cost the same as a new one. After it was up and running he said he would have been better just replacing with a new one and having the warranty.
I don't want to fall out with these companies that service them because I end up chasing my tail trying to find another company.
https://pbautoelectrics.co.uk/shop/webasto-thermo-90st-12v-service-kit/
The service kit costs £411 , less than a third of the cost of a new heater unit , i usually get about 5-6 years before needing to service it but it depends how you use the heater . Constant cycling on and off causes it to coke up much quicker.
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streamline say there is nothing to service on these heaters just replace bits when needed
Glow plug and grating. One of the guy's on the other forum didn't get his serviced for 6 years and it burnt out. He got a company to repair it and it cost the same as a new one. After it was up and running he said he would have been better just replacing with a new one and having the warranty.
I don't want to fall out with these companies that service them because I end up chasing my tail trying to find another company.
https://pbautoelectrics.co.uk/shop/webasto-thermo-90st-12v-service-kit/
The service kit costs £411 , less than a third of the cost of a new heater unit , i usually get about 5-6 years before needing to service it but it depends how you use the heater . Constant cycling on and off causes it to coke up much quicker.
We deal with butler technique if you add labour costs though to replace these parts the bill will be £900-1200 depending ware you take it , I can get a complete new thermo 90 including fuel pump for £1400 including the VAT , . so depending on your skill set at doing it yourself it’s almost the same price to fit a new unit ,they are simple to replace like for like
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streamline say there is nothing to service on these heaters just replace bits when needed
Glow plug and grating. One of the guy's on the other forum didn't get his serviced for 6 years and it burnt out. He got a company to repair it and it cost the same as a new one. After it was up and running he said he would have been better just replacing with a new one and having the warranty.
I don't want to fall out with these companies that service them because I end up chasing my tail trying to find another company.
https://pbautoelectrics.co.uk/shop/webasto-thermo-90st-12v-service-kit/
The service kit costs £411 , less than a third of the cost of a new heater unit , i usually get about 5-6 years before needing to service it but it depends how you use the heater . Constant cycling on and off causes it to coke up much quicker.
We deal with butler technique if you add labour costs though to replace these parts the bill will be £900-1200 depending ware you take it , I can get a complete new thermo 90 including fuel pump for £1400 including the VAT , . so depending on your skill set at doing it yourself it’s almost the same price to fit a new unit ,they are simple to replace like for like
I was thinking of buying another one and just swapping it over and then servicing the old one. Might do that in the future.